Friend of Foe: The Development of Human-Alien Relationships Based on Ecological Awareness in Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary
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This paper discusses human perceptions of nature and nonhuman species as demonstrated in Weir’s sci-fi novel Project Hail Mary (2021) through the development of interspecific relationships between humans and aliens. By doing so, theoretical ideas such as ecocriticism and affect theory are applied. The essay questions the roles of two alien beings in the science fiction as a cause of humans’ different emotions and reactions when aliens appear and how those responses unfold humans’ attitudes to other species and the natural environment. The investigation reveals that humans interact with the emergence of aliens differently depending on the collective emotion towards two aliens although they both are unknown beings. Arguably, it reveals human indifference towards the natural environment when they fear one of the alien beings and attempt to annihilate that alien to save humanity in spite of the substantially destructive impact on the whole ecosystem. At the same time, the protagonist’s encounter and amicable relationship with another alien suggests that, instead of causing destruction, the promising way to live with other species and to solve any issues is to learn to live with it.
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